How to make stress your friend | Kelly McGonigal | TED

Translator: Edin Duraković Reviewer: Nika Kotnik

I have a confession to make.

Nekaj vam bom priznala,

But first, I want you to make a little confession to me.

toda najprej si želim

da nekaj malega vi priznate meni.

In the past year, I want you to just raise your hand

Lepo prosim, če v odgovor kar dvignete roko tisti,

if you've experienced relatively little stress.

ki ste v preteklem letu doživeli pretežno malo stresa.

Anyone?

Je kdo?

How about a moderate amount of stress?

Kaj pa zmerno količino stresa?

Who has experienced a lot of stress?

Kdo pa je doživel veliko stresa?

Yeah. Me too.

Ja, tudi jaz sem ga.

But that is not my confession.

Toda to ni moje priznanje.

My confession is this:

Moje priznanje je naslednje: sem zdravstvena psihoginja

I am a health psychologist,

and my mission is to help people be happier and healthier.

in moja naloga je, da ljudem pomagam do sreče in zdravja.

But I fear that something I've been teaching

Vendar se bojim, da to, kar sem poučevala

for the last 10 years is doing more harm than good,

zadnjih deset let, povzroča več škode kot koristi,

and it has to do with stress.

in ima veliko opraviti s stresom.

For years I've been telling people, stress makes you sick.

Že leta ljudem govorim, da je stres tisti, ki te naredi bolnega.

It increases the risk of everything from the common cold

Da povečuje tveganje za vse, od običajnega prehlada

to cardiovascular disease.

do bolezni srca in ožilja.

S tem s tem stres naredila za sovražnika.

Basically, I've turned stress into the enemy.

But I have changed my mind about stress,

Toda moje prepričanje o stresu se je vendarle spremenilo,

and today, I want to change yours.

zato danes želim spremeniti tudi vaše prepričanje.

Let me start with the study that made me rethink

Začeli bi z raziskavo, zaradi katere sem premislila

my whole approach to stress.

o svojem celotnem pristopu k stresu.

Študija je spremljala 30.000 odraslih v ZDA

This study tracked 30,000 adults in the United States for eight years,

osem let tako, da jih je najprej vprašala,

and they started by asking people,

"How much stress have you experienced in the last year?"

"Koliko stresa ste doživeli v preteklem letu?"

Vprašanje je bilo še, "Ali verjamete,

They also asked,

"Do you believe that stress is harmful for your health?"

da je stres škodljiv za vaše zdravje?"

And then they used public death records to find out who died.

Raziskava je nato uporabila javne podatke o umrljivosti

da bi ugotovila, kdo je umrl.

(Laughter)

(smeh)

Okay.

Dobro, za začetek nekaj slabih novic.

Some bad news first.

People who experienced a lot of stress in the previous year

Osebe, ki so v preteklem letu doživele veliko stresa

had a 43 percent increased risk of dying.

so imele 43% večje tveganje za umrljivost.

But that was only true for the people

Toda to je veljalo le za tiste,

who also believed that stress is harmful for your health.

ki so bili prepričani, da je stres zdravju škodljiv.

(Laughter)

(smeh)

People who experienced a lot of stress

Osebe, ki so doživele veliko stresa,

but did not view stress as harmful

pa ga niso jemale kot zdravju škodljivega,

were no more likely to die.

niso imele povečane umrljivosti.

In fact, they had the lowest risk of dying

Dejansko so imeli najnižje tveganje umrljivosti

of anyone in the study,

od vseh v študiji, vključujoč tudi tiste,

including people who had relatively little stress.

ki so doživeli pretežno malo stresa.

Now the researchers estimated that over the eight years

Raziskovalci so tako ocenili, da je v osmih letih

they were tracking deaths,

spremljanja umrljivosti

182.000 Američanov umrlo prezgodnje smrti

182,000 Americans died prematurely,

not from stress,

ne zaradi stresa, temveč zaradi prepričanja,

but from the belief that stress is bad for you.

da je stres nekaj slabega. (smeh)

(Laughter)

That is over 20,000 deaths a year.

To je prek 20.000 umrlih na leto.

Now, if that estimate is correct,

Če je ta ocena točna,

that would make believing stress is bad for you

to pomeni, da je bilo slabo mnenje o stresu

petnajsti največji povzročitelj smrtnih primerov

the 15th largest cause of death in the United States last year,

v ZDA na leto,

killing more people than skin cancer, HIV/AIDS and homicide.

in ki pobije več ljudi od kožnega raka,

virusa HIV/AIDS in umora.

(smeh)

(Laughter)

You can see why this study freaked me out.

Zdaj vidite, zakaj sem se ob tej študiji zgrozila.

Here I've been spending so much energy telling people

Pa toliko časa sem vložila v to, da sem ljudem govorila

kako je stres zdravju škodljiv.

stress is bad for your health.

Tako sem se pričela spraševati:

So this study got me wondering:

Can changing how you think about stress make you healthier?

Ali te lahko sprememba v mišljenju o stresu

naredi bolj zdravega? Znanost pravi DA.

And here the science says yes.

When you change your mind about stress,

Ko ti uspe spremeniti stališče o stresu,

you can change your body's response to stress.

lahko spremeniš tudi telesne odzive na stres.

Now to explain how this works,

Če želim razložiti kako to deluje,

I want you all to pretend that you are participants

je potrebno, da se za trenutek prelevite v udeležence

in a study designed to stress you out.

te raziskave, ki vas hoče vznemiriti.

It's called the social stress test.

Imenuje se test socialnega stresa.

You come into the laboratory,

Pridete v laboratorij,

and you're told you have to give

kjer se od vas pričakuje, da v petih minutah

a five-minute impromptu speech on your personal weaknesses

zaigrate nastop o vaših osebnih slabostih

to a panel of expert evaluators sitting right in front of you,

ocenjevalni žiriji, ki sedi pred vami,

and to make sure you feel the pressure,

in da bi bili res pod pritiskom,

there are bright lights and a camera in your face,

so proti vašemu obrazu usmerili luč in kamero,

kind of like this.

nekako tako kot zdaj.

(Laughter)

And the evaluators have been trained

Ocenjevalci so zdaj poučeni

to give you discouraging, non-verbal feedback,

da vam podajo zavračujoč neverbalni odziv, takole.

like this.

(Exhales)

(smeh)

(Laughter)

In zdaj ko ste že povsem čustveno na tleh

Now that you're sufficiently demoralized,

time for part two: a math test.

pride drugi del: matematični test.

And unbeknownst to you,

Vi pa ne veste,

the experimenter has been trained to harass you during it.

da vas raziskovalec namerno pri tem še nadleguje.

Now we're going to all do this together.

Zdaj pa bomo to poskusili narediti vsi skupaj.

It's going to be fun.

Saj bo zabavno.

For me.

Zame.

Okay.

Ok. Torej želim, da vsi pričnete šteti nazaj

(Laughter)

I want you all to count backwards from 996

od 996 po minus sedem.

in increments of seven.

You're going to do this out loud,

To počnite naglas

as fast as you can,

in hitro kot zmorete, začenši pri 996.

starting with 996.

Go!

Zdaj!

(Audience counting)

(štetje)

Go faster. Faster please.

Hitreje, hitreje prosim.

To je prepočasi.

You're going too slow.

(Audience counting)

Dovolj. Dovolj, dovolj, dovolj.

Stop. Stop, stop, stop.

That guy made a mistake.

Tisti moški je naredil napako.

We are going to have to start all over again.

In zdaj bo treba spet od začetka.

(Laughter)

You're not very good at this, are you?

Niste ravno dobri v tem, kaj?

OK. Torej veste o čem govorim.

Okay, so you get the idea.

If you were actually in this study,

Če bi res sodelovali v tej raziskavi,

you'd probably be a little stressed out.

bi najbrž bili malce pod stresom.

Your heart might be pounding,

Vaše srce bi najbrž močno bilo,

you might be breathing faster, maybe breaking out into a sweat.

dihali bi hitreje, se potili.

And normally, we interpret these physical changes as anxiety

Običajno te telesne spremembe razumemo

kot tesnobo

or signs that we aren't coping very well with the pressure.

oz. znak, da se težko soočamo s stresom.

Toda kaj pa, če bi te znake razumeli

But what if you viewed them instead

kot znake, da je vaše telo vznemirjeno

as signs that your body was energized,

was preparing you to meet this challenge?

zato, da vas pripravi na ta izziv?

To je točno tisto, kar je bilo rečeno udeležencem

Now that is exactly what participants were told

in a study conducted at Harvard University.

raziskave na Harvardski univerzi.

Before they went through the social stress test,

Preden so pričeli s testom socialnega stresa,

they were taught to rethink their stress response as helpful.

so bili poučeni, da je stres nekaj, kar nam v resnici pomaga.

That pounding heart is preparing you for action.

Da nas hitro bitje srca pripravlja na delovanje.

If you're breathing faster, it's no problem.

Če dihate hitreje, to še ni problem.

It's getting more oxygen to your brain.

Vaši možgani bodo prejeli več kisika.

And participants who learned to view the stress response

Tako so udeleženci, ki so svoje odzive na stres jemali

as helpful for their performance,

kot pomoč za lastno udejstvovanje,

well, they were less stressed out, less anxious, more confident,

bili dejansko manj vznemirjeni,

manj tesnobni, bolj samozavestni.

but the most fascinating finding to me

Toda najbolj navdušujoče spoznanje zame

was how their physical stress response changed.

je bilo, kako se je njihov odziv na stres spremenil.

Now, in a typical stress response,

V tipični stresni situaciji

your heart rate goes up,

se bo pospešil vaš srčni utrip,

and your blood vessels constrict like this.

vaše žile se bodo takole krčile.

To je eden od razlogov, da je kronični stres

And this is one of the reasons that chronic stress

is sometimes associated with cardiovascular disease.

včasih povezan s težavami srca in ožilja.

It's not really healthy to be in this state all the time.

Ni zdravo biti pod stresom ves čas.

But in the study,

Vendar, ko so udeleženci raziskave opazovali

when participants viewed their stress response as helpful,

svoj odziv na stres kot nekaj koristnega,

their blood vessels stayed relaxed like this.

so njihove žile ostale lepo sproščene. Takole.

Their heart was still pounding,

Srce je resda še vedno razbijalo,

but this is a much healthier cardiovascular profile.

toda to je bila vendarle veliko bolj zdrava srčno-žilna slika.

It actually looks a lot like what happens

V resnici je izgledalo tako

in moments of joy and courage.

kot v trenutkih radosti in poguma.

Over a lifetime of stressful experiences,

Če opazujemo stres skozi celotno življenje,

this one biological change

lahko ena takšna biološka sprememba

could be the difference

pomeni razliko

between a stress-induced heart attack at age 50

med s stresom povzročenim zastojem srca v petdesetih

and living well into your 90s.

in vašim zdravim življenjem v devetdesetih.

And this is really what the new science of stress reveals,

In nova znanost o stresu razkriva natanko to:

that how you think about stress matters.

da je pravzaprav naše stališče do stresa pomembno.

Tako se je moral spremeniti tudi moj strokovni cilj.

So my goal as a health psychologist has changed.

I no longer want to get rid of your stress.

Nič več si ne želim, da bi se rešili vašega stresa.

I want to make you better at stress.

Odslej vas hočem na stres le bolje pripraviti.

And we just did a little intervention.

Pravkar smo tudi sami naredili mali ukrep.

If you raised your hand and said

Če ste dvignili roko in rekli

you'd had a lot of stress in the last year,

da ste v preteklem letu doživeli veliko stresa,

we could have saved your life,

potem smo vam lahko rešili življenje,

because hopefully the next time your heart is pounding from stress,

kajti ko vam bo naslednjič

srce močno razbijalo

you're going to remember this talk

se boste morda spomnili mojega govora,

and you're going to think to yourself,

in boste pomislili,

this is my body helping me rise to this challenge.

v bistvu mi telo le pomaga pri soočanju z izzivom.

And when you view stress in that way,

Ko na stres gledate na tak način,

your body believes you,

vam telo verjame,

and your stress response becomes healthier.

tako bo tudi vaš odziv na stres postal bolj zdrav.

Now I said I have over a decade of demonizing stress

Rekla sem, da se vam moram za več kot desetletje dolgega zastraševanja s stresom

to redeem myself from,

z nečim odkupiti,

so we are going to do one more intervention.

zato bomo izvedli še zadnji ukrep.

I want to tell you

Rada bi vam povedala o enem najbolj

about one of the most under-appreciated aspects of the stress response,

podcenjevanem vidiku odziva na stres,

and the idea is this:

ki se glasi:

Stress makes you social.

Stres te naredi družabnega.

To understand this side of stress,

Da bi razumeli ta vidik stresa,

je potrebno spregovoriti o hormonu oksitocinu,

we need to talk about a hormone, oxytocin,

and I know oxytocin has already gotten as much hype as a hormone can get.

in vem, da je oksitocin že na splošno

priljubljen med hormoni.

It even has its own cute nickname, the cuddle hormone,

Ima že celo ljubkovalno ime, tj. hormon objemanja,

because it's released when you hug someone.

saj se sprošča ravno, ko smo v objemu.

But this is a very small part of what oxytocin is involved in.

Toda to je majhen delček tega, v kar je oksitocin vpleten.

Oxytocin is a neuro-hormone.

Oksitocin je živčni hormon.

It fine-tunes your brain's social instincts.

Možganom pomaga uglasiti naše zmožnosti za odnose.

It primes you to do things

Izpopolni vas tako, da počnete stvari,

that strengthen close relationships.

ki utrdijo vaše intimne odnose.

Oxytocin makes you crave physical contact with your friends and family.

Oksitocin ustvarja potrebo po telesni bližini

s prijatelji, družino.

It enhances your empathy.

Poveča vaše sočutje.

It even makes you more willing to help and support

Še več, naredi vas bolj pripravljene, da pomagate

the people you care about.

in podpirate ljudi, ki vam pomenijo.

Some people have even suggested we should snort oxytocin...

Nekateri celo menijo,

da bi morali oksitocin njuhati,

da bi postali še bolj sočutni in skrbni.

to become more compassionate and caring.

But here's what most people don't understand about oxytocin.

Toda obstaja nekaj, česar ljudje ne razumejo

o oksitocinu.

It's a stress hormone.

Da gre za stresni hormon.

Your pituitary gland pumps this stuff out

In vaša nadledvična žleza ga brizga ven

as part of the stress response.

kot del stresnega odziva.

It's as much a part of your stress response

Je prav tako del stresnega odziva

as the adrenaline that makes your heart pound.

kot adrenalin, ki vam omogoča bitje srca.

And when oxytocin is released in the stress response,

In ko je oksitocin sproščen v stresnem odzivu,

it is motivating you to seek support.

vas spodbuja, da si poiščete podporo.

Your biological stress response

Vaš biološki odziv na stres

is nudging you to tell someone how you feel,

vas pozove, da nekomu zaupate vaše počutje

instead of bottling it up.

in ne da ga zadržujete v sebi.

Your stress response wants to make sure you notice

Stresni odziv je tam tudi zato, da opazite

when someone else in your life is struggling

ko je nekdo drug v vaši bližini v stiski

so that you can support each other.

da lahko drug drugemu pomagate.

When life is difficult,

Ko je v življenju težko, stresni odziv od vas zahteva

your stress response wants you to be surrounded

da ste obkroženi z ljudmi, ki vas imajo radi.

by people who care about you.

Okay, so how is knowing this side of stress going to make you healthier?

Torej kako vam lahko ta vidik stresa

pomaga do boljšega zdravja?

Well, oxytocin doesn't only act on your brain.

Namreč, oksitocin nima učinka le v možganih.

It also acts on your body,

Tudi na telo ima učinek,

and one of its main roles in your body

saj je ena od njegovih glavnih vlog v telesu

is to protect your cardiovascular system from the effects of stress.

da ščiti sistem srca in ožilja

pred učinki stresa.

It's a natural anti-inflammatory.

To je naravni protivnetni mehanizem.

It also helps your blood vessels stay relaxed during stress.

In kljub stresu našemu ožilju pomaga, da ostane sproščeno.

But my favorite effect on the body is actually on the heart.

Moj najljubši učinek na telo je seveda učinek na srce.

Your heart has receptors for this hormone,

Vaše srce prek receptorjev sprejema ta hormon,

and oxytocin helps heart cells regenerate

in oksitocin pomaga, da se srčne celice regenerirajo

and heal from any stress-induced damage.

ter pozdravijo od škodljivih posledic stresa.

This stress hormone strengthens your heart.

Ta stresni hormon opolnomoči vaše srce,

And the cool thing is that all of these physical benefits

in kar je še najboljše, vse telesne prednosti

of oxytocin are enhanced by social contact and social support.

oksitocina se povečujejo s pomočjo odnosov z drugimi

in socialne podpore,

So when you reach out to others under stress,

tako da ko se pod stresom obračate k drugim,

either to seek support or to help someone else,

bodisi iščoč pomoč ali pa isto nudite drugemu,

you release more of this hormone,

sproščate več tega hormona,

your stress response becomes healthier,

vaš odziv na stres postane zdrav,

and you actually recover faster from stress.

in dejansko od stresa tudi hitreje okrevate.

I find this amazing,

Mar ni izjemno,

that your stress response has a built-in mechanism

da ima odziv na stres že vgrajen mehanizem

for stress resilience,

za njegovo odpornost,

and that mechanism is human connection.

ki se mu reče človeška povezanost.

Zaključila bi s tem, da vam povem še o eni raziskavi.

I want to finish by telling you about one more study.

And listen up, because this study could also save a life.

Poslušajte pozorno,kajti lahko, da bo komu rešila tudi življenje.

This study tracked about 1,000 adults in the United States,

Raziskava je spremljala okoli 1000 odraslih Američanov,

and they ranged in age from 34 to 93,

starih med 34 in 93 let,

and they started the study by asking,

pričela pa se je z vprašanjem,

"How much stress have you experienced in the last year?"

"Koliko stresa ste doživeli v preteklem letu?"

They also asked,

Spraševala je tudi, "Koliko časa ste preživeli tako,

"How much time have you spent helping out friends, neighbors,

da ste pomagali prijateljem, sosedom in

people in your community?"

drugim ljudem v vaši skupnosti?"

And then they used public records for the next five years

Nato so uporabili javne podatke za naslednjih pet let,

to find out who died.

da bi ugotovili, kdo je umrl.

Okay, so the bad news first:

Ok, torej najprej slabe novice:

For every major stressful life experience,

vsaka večja stresna izkušnja,

like financial difficulties or family crisis,

kot npr. finančne težave ali družinska kriza,

that increased the risk of dying by 30 percent.

je tveganje za umrljivost povečala za 30 odstotkov.

But -- and I hope you are expecting a "but" by now --

Toda - upam, da ste sedaj ta ´toda´ že pričakovali -

but that wasn't true for everyone.

to ni držalo za vse.

People who spent time caring for others

Za osebe, ki so živele tako, da so pomagale drugim,

showed absolutely no stress-related increase in dying.

se je izkazalo, da se umrljivost ni nič povečala. Nič.

Zero.

Caring created resilience.

Skrb za druge je ustvarila odpornost.

And so we see once again

Torej lahko vidimo

that the harmful effects of stress on your health

da se škodljivim posledicam stresa

are not inevitable.

lahko izognemo.

How you think and how you act

Način mišljenja in odzivanja

can transform your experience of stress.

lahko spremeni stresno izkušnjo.

When you choose to view your stress response as helpful,

Ko izberete, da stresni odziv obravnavate

kot nekaj koristnega,

you create the biology of courage.

s tem ustvarjate zmožnosti za pogum.

And when you choose to connect with others under stress,

Ko se pod stresom odločite še povezovati z drugimi,

you can create resilience.

lahko ustvarite odpornost.

Now I wouldn't necessarily ask for more stressful experiences in my life,

Seveda si sama ne bi ravno želela

več stresnih izkušenj v življenju,

but this science has given me a whole new appreciation for stress.

toda znanost mi je omogočila

da sem pričela stres še bolj ceniti.

Stress gives us access to our hearts.

Stres nam omogoča dostop do naših src.

The compassionate heart that finds joy and meaning

Sočutno srce, ki najde veselje in pomen

in connecting with others,

v povezovanju z drugimi,

and yes, your pounding physical heart,

in seveda, vaše bitje srca

working so hard to give you strength and energy.

gara zato, da vam daje moč in energijo.

And when you choose to view stress in this way,

Ko se odločite gledati na stres na tak način,

you're not just getting better at stress,

niste le boljši v stresu,

you're actually making a pretty profound statement.

temveč s tem kažete tudi globoko stališče.

You're saying that you can trust yourself to handle life's challenges.

S tem sporočate, da si lahko bolj zaupate

pri soočanju z življenjskimi izzivi,

And you're remembering that you don't have to face them alone.

in da dobro veste,

da pri tem niste sami.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(aplavz)

Chris Anderson: This is kind of amazing, what you're telling us.

Chris Anderson: Res je neverjetno, kar nam govorite.

Najbolj pa seveda to, da lahko prepričanje o stresu

It seems amazing to me that a belief about stress

can make so much difference to someone's life expectancy.

naredi takšen učinek na posameznikovo življenjsko dobo.

How would that extend to advice,

Kaj bi svetovali nekomu,

like, if someone is making a lifestyle choice

ki je pred izbiro življenjskega stila

between, say, a stressful job and a non-stressful job,

med npr. stresnim poklicem in ne-stresnim poklicem,

does it matter which way they go?

ali je torej sploh pomembno katero smer izberejo?

It's equally wise to go for the stressful job

Je enako modro sprejeti tudi stresni poklic

so long as you believe that you can handle it, in some sense?

dokler verjameš, da ga lahko obvladaš?

KM: Yeah, and one thing we know for certain

Kelly McGonigal: Da, namreč vedeti moramo

da je slediti pomenu v življenju bolj zdravo

is that chasing meaning is better for your health

than trying to avoid discomfort.

kot se izogibati neugodju.

And so I would say that's really the best way to make decisions,

Rekla bi tudi, da je najboljši način za odločanje,

is go after what it is that creates meaning in your life

da slediš temu, kar ti pomeni v življenju,

nato si zaupaj, da boš zmogel premagati stres, ki tej izbiri sledi.

and then trust yourself to handle the stress that follows.

CA: Thank you so much, Kelly. It's pretty cool.

CA: Najlepša hvala, Kelly, to je super. KM: Hvala vam.

(aplavz)

(Applause)